Canadians rely on safe and well-maintained local and regional airports to support vibrant communities. These airports also support essential air services including community resupply, air ambulance, search and rescue, and forest fire response.  

The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services and Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, Vance Badawey, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, Chris Bittle, yesterday announced that the Government of Canada is making important safety investments at the Niagara District Airport.

Through Transport Canada’s Airports Capital Assistance Program, the Government of Canada will provide the airport with almost $1.2 million to purchase critical safety equipment including a runway sweeper, a snow plow and a loader.

This funding is in addition to the $470,000 in Airports Capital Assistance Program funding provided to the airport in May 2021 for the purchase of a medium-sized snowblower.

This equipment will help the airport maintain safe operations for aircraft, passengers, crews and airport workers by keeping airside surfaces, such as runways and taxiways, clear of snow and ice. 

Since the Airports Capital Assistance Program started in 1995, the Government of Canada has invested over $1.2 billion for 1,215 projects at 199 local, regional and National Airports System airports across the country. Funded projects include runway and taxiway repairs/rehabilitation, lighting enhancements, purchasing snow clearing equipment and firefighting vehicles and installing wildlife control fencing. 

Quotes 

“The pandemic highlighted the important role Canada’s local and regional airports play in our country’s economy, and in sustaining the social and economic well-being of our communities. In addition to supporting personal travel, local and regional airports are key connectors for business, health care, social services, and emerging resource development sectors. These investments will improve access to safe, reliable and efficient air transportation options, and will help us deliver our commitment to build safer, healthier and stronger communities as Canada recovers from the pandemic.” 

The Honourable Omar Alghabra , Minister of Transport 

“As we emerge from the impacts of COVID-19 and can more fully embrace the economic opportunities rapidly evolving throughout the Niagara Region, continued investments in Niagara District Airport have never been more important for our community. We continue to work with our partners to strengthen economic growth that build on our region’s strengths such as the airports and the Welland Canal, both at the forefront of our charge forward to reinforce Niagara as one of the nation’s strategic trade corridors.”

Vance Badawey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services and Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre

Second stop with Minister Omar Alghabra today was to Niagara Ports, a project facilitated by the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA) along the Welland Canal in Thorold. This initiative is a positive and practical solution to a long-held belief that many of the Niagara region’s marine assets are underutilized, and could be leveraged for greater economic impact, job creation and trade facilitation. HOPA envisions the development of multimodal industrial hubs that will attract a cluster of complementary industrial tenants, shippers, third-party property owners and other users. These hubs will strengthen and improve the overall performance of southern Ontario’s freight network and marine transportation system, reducing bottlenecks and improving choice and fluidity for shippers.

"The investment of over $1 million provides further improvements to the safety of our airport and contributes to the growth of the economy here in Niagara Region.”

Chris Bittle, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Member of Parliament for St. Catharines

“We’re thankful for the support of the Federal government that allows us to prioritize the safety of our travellers in Niagara, This speaks volumes to the growth in traffic that we continue to facilitate at CYSN and is a needed investment in the airport.”

Robin Garrett, Chair, Niagara District Airport Commission

Minister Alghabra, Chris Bittle and myself met with members of the Muslim community in St. Catharines to discuss pressing issues such as immigration and combatting islamophobia.

Quick Facts 

• As announced in the Fall Economic Statement 2020, the Airports Capital Assistance Program received a one-time funding top-up of $186 million over two years.
• The Fall Economic Statement 2020 also announced the temporary expansion of eligibility for the Airports Capital Assistance Program to allow National Airports System airports with less than one million annual passengers in 2019 to apply for funding under the Program in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.
• The eligible National Airports System airports are: Gander; Charlottetown; Saint John; Fredericton; Moncton; Thunder Bay; London; and Prince George.

Associated Link 

• Airports Capital Assistance Program